I. DIFFICULT TIMES ARE
“We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life itself”” —2 Corinthians 1:8
The symbol of our Christian faith is a
II. DIFFICULT TIMES REQUIRE MORE THAN OUR OWN
“Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing. Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches” —2 Corinthians 11:24-28
A. What God
Paul goes on with his description of the trouble he encountered in Asia. He says, “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death”
The phrase “sentence of death” is a judicial term, and the idea is that Paul felt like the verdict was in, and his sentence was death.
QUESTION - Why would God allow his choice servant to reach a place so dark and difficult that he could only see death in his future?
Paul tells us why in verse 9. He says, “so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead”
The truth God had to show Paul, and will have to show us as well, is that the Lord will allow difficulty so great that we’re forced to abandon self-reliance and lean on Him.
B. How God
God pressed Paul down, and hung him out over the precipice of despair, so that Paul would learn not to trust in himself, but rather to put his trust wholly upon God.
Here is the great truth at the heart of this text: God
He will weigh you down until you go to your knees, and look up to Him as your only hope.
God will put on you more than you can handle, He will never put on you more than
III. DIFFICULT TIMES DON’T MEAN
God will bring you face to face with a trouble that will crush you. But, He will not leave you there. He will not abandon you in your trouble.
“He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and he will deliver us. We have put our hope in him that he will deliver us again” —2 Corinthians 1:10
In your difficulty and despair, you can be assured that God will not abandon you in your trouble if you:
A. Remember What God Has
B. Remember What God Has